Photo: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia
A region of 663 million struggles to define its problems — and hesitates to warn the U.S. against interference
In Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, 5,000 police officers and 2,000 soldiers backed by armored vehicles and dogs were deployed as the city hosted the 9th Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC — Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños). More than 100,000 civil servants were temporarily sent to work remotely, schools were closed and city streets were blocked.
Minutes before the summit began, it was announced that only the presidents of the Latin American and Caribbean nations would speak. The final declaration had been prepared in advance.
Why did the Honduran authorities impose such extraordinary restrictions and precautions? It was certainly not a sign of confidence.
The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) is an intergovernmental platform for political dialogue and consensus-building that brings together 33 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean. Officially established in December 2011 in Caracas, Venezuela, its stated goal is to promote regional integration and cooperation in areas of political, economic, social, and cultural diversity — without the participation of the United States or Canada. The region it represents is home to 663 million people and has a combined GDP of approximately $6.6 trillion.
The ninth CELAC summit in Tegucigalpa took place at a time when the Western Hemisphere is facing a complex situation, due in no small part to pressure from the new administration in Washington, which has intensified efforts to undermine CELAC as an alternative to the pro-imperialist Organization of American States (OAS).
To this end, the administration of President Donald Trump has sought to sow divisions and provoke conflict among CELAC member states, using leaders close to the White House — including those of Argentina, Paraguay, El Salvador, and Ecuador — as tools of disruption.
Against this tense backdrop, Latin American delegations arrived in Tegucigalpa fragmented and without a unified strategy — something sorely needed in the face of continued U.S. pressure.
The summit lasted a single day and ended with the adoption — by «sufficient consensus», 30 in favor and 3 against — of the «Tegucigalpa Declaration», a document consisting of eight largely symbolic points. These reaffirm the region’s commitment to being a «zone of peace» and reject the use of «unilateral coercive measures» that violate international law and restrict global trade.
As expected, regional leaders pledged to work toward greater political consensus. But making promises is easier than keeping them.
This is especially true given that the declaration makes no mention of the major shift in relations with the United States since President Trump’s inauguration on January 20. At that time, just hours after being sworn in, Trump told journalists in the Oval Office: «Our relationship with Latin America ought to be excellent. They need us a lot more than we need them. We don’t need them».
The old-new president was being disingenuous. Trump and his aides often invoke the Monroe Doctrine, which Trump called «the official policy of our country» in his first address to the United Nations in 2018. Since the beginning of his second term, Trump has made clear what this doctrine means in practice.
He has accused the Mexican government of an «unacceptable alliance» with drug cartels and threatened to carry out drone strikes on Mexican territory. He has promised to «take back» the Panama Canal — by force if necessary — imposed new sanctions on Venezuela and Cuba, and launched a mass deportation campaign targeting undocumented migrants in the U.S. Just days before the CELAC summit in Tegucigalpa, Trump introduced sweeping tariffs on imports from 185 countries — including many from Latin America.
Instead of issuing a clear and unified warning against any form of interference in Panama, Mexico, Venezuela or Cuba — instead of taking joint action to stop the bloodshed in Haiti or to combat human trafficking across the continent, or to form a common front against the dismantling of the global trading system through American tariffs — the declaration vaguely «rejects unilateral coercive measures» and calls for respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The “Tegucigalpa Declaration” is completely silent on the region’s critical challenges, offering only general appeals to «love and friendship».
«CELAC is not a perfect organization, but it is ours», declared Honduran President Xiomara Castro during the summit’s opening session. «It was born out of a dream, an ideal, and the utopia envisioned by our liberators and the founding fathers of Latin American integration in the face of great powers».
«This dream of unity and a greater homeland is more relevant than ever, as the old neoliberal order imposed on our countries collapses and great powers like the United States redraw their economic maps without asking which nations are left behind», she added.
Washington, too, has long «dreamed» — but only of a greater America, often at the expense of its southern neighbors. It has waged both overt and covert wars against them. If Latin America manages to benefit in any way from the current trade and economic war, it will be in spite of Trump’s policies, not because of them.
Trump’s unpredictable moves — veering from one extreme to another — have also played a role. In fact, while CELAC leaders and officials were still discussing the possible consequences of the trade war, Trump suddenly announced a 90-day suspension of many of his tariffs — although the global baseline tariff of 10 percent remained in place.
Meanwhile, China has begun to increase its purchases from Latin America. Europe is finalizing a free trade agreement with Mexico and is in talks with MERCOSUR about ratification. At the same time, new and more reliable prospects for cooperation with the BRICS countries are opening up.
South America, it seems, is managing to strengthen its position in the trade war not because of relatively low U.S. tariffs on its exports, but rather by boosting trade with the rest of the world to fill the void left by the United States.
Whether the region will succeed in the short term — or fall into a shallow recession as a result of the trade war — remains uncertain. But one thing is clear: Latin America and the Caribbean have an opportunity to reduce their dependence on the U.S., strengthen regional ties, and expand economic relations with the broader international community.
The real question is whether they will seize this opportunity — or let it dissipate into more empty rhetoric.
Against the backdrop of a global trade war and Washington’s contradictory migration policies, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva urged CELAC countries to set aside their differences, strengthen regional integration, and stand up for democracy and self-determination.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum argued that «a more united region is a stronger region — one capable of developing real solutions and joint proposals for integration and cooperation in areas such as trade, education, scientific and technological development, clean energy, and biodiversity conservation, all aimed at building more equitable societies».
The presidents of Cuba and Bolivia-Miguel Díaz-Canel and Luis Arce-echoed the collective call for greater integration, while sharply criticizing Washington’s policy of interference.
CELAC’s new rotating presidency for 2025–2026 was awarded to Colombia. President Gustavo Petro used the occasion to call for a new model of integration — one based on social justice, equality and environmental protection.
There’s an old saying about economic ties in the Western Hemisphere: when the United States sneezes, Latin America catches pneumonia. But as the CELAC summit in Tegucigalpa showed, this «virus» is no longer fatal — and Trump’s old-new trade policies could weaken it even further.
If the U.S. falls seriously ill this time, Latin America won’t necessarily end up in the same hospital ward. Most likely, it won’t go there at all.